5 nightmare scenarios for Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023

Everyone seems to be optimistic about the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2023 offseason. With Omar Khan and Andy Weidl running things in the front office, this team filled glaring holes in free agency before loading up on talent in the 2023 NFL Draft.

On paper, it's nearly impossible to argue that the Steelers are a worse team this year. Thus expectations are already running high and fans are excited to see their team in action this year. Sadly, not everything is guaranteed to work out the way we expect it to. Here are the five biggest nightmare scenarios for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023.

5. Steelers offensive line doesn't show improvement

Just because the Steelers are finally making real investments into the offensive line doesn't mean that it's sure to improve (at least not right away). Pittsburgh handed OG Isaac Seumalo a three-year, $24 million contract during free agency and later traded up to the 14th overall pick to secure Georgia OT Broderick Jones.

These two players are expected to make up the left side of the offensive line and be sizeable improvements over Dan Moore Jr. and Kevin Dotson. However, we can't assume that they will be dominant from the gate.

Recent trends suggest that many first-round offensive tackles typically struggle right away, and the fact that Jones has limited college experience probably doesn't help. Likewise, some are interested to see how Seumalo will do when he's not sandwiched between Pro Bowl and All-Pro offensive linemen on the Eagles. Will he raise the performance of the players around him or not look as impressive as he did in Philly?

Obviously, it's reasonable to expect improvements on the offensive line, but a jump isn't guaranteed to happen early in 2023. If it doesn't happen at all, this would be a nightmare for the Steelers.